In the next room, his fellow sect brothers were startled by his outburst, thinking a remnant of the Ten Directions Sect had snuck in to assassinate him.
They hurriedly drew their swords and kicked the door open, but when they rushed over to look, they found nothing at all.
"Brother Su, what are you doing?"
Su Changqing, still clutching his rear in terror, said, "I... I had a nightmare..."
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the others’ faces turned utterly bizarre.
It wasn’t that Martial Artists didn’t have nightmares, but Su Changqing was a Seventh Grade Expert. ’Did he really need to get *this* scared over a bad dream?’
Seeing his sect brothers trying to stifle their laughter, Su Changqing finally snapped out of it. He gave up on sleeping and prepared to go outside to practice his Moon Dance Sword under the moonlight until dawn.
He had thought the nightmare was a one-time accident, but Su Changqing never would have guessed that it was only the beginning.
From that day forward, Zou Feng tried visualizing images from different art books every night.
To make Su Changqing’s suffering even more exquisite, he even sent people to buy all sorts of this world’s illustrated books of myths and monsters.
While diligently practicing the Great Compassion Hand, Zou Feng made sure to never leave the Dragon Gate Boat if he could help it.
He knew very well that as a disciple of one of the Renowned and Righteous Sects, Su Changqing couldn’t possibly attack him in public over such a petty affair.
’That guy is probably planning to wait until I’m alone, or for an "accident" to befall me during an operation to wipe out the Ten Directions Sect remnants.’
’So as long as I don’t go out, I won’t give him the chance.’
’Besides, after more than ten days of my non-stop, chaotic Visualizations, Su Changqing should be too preoccupied to plot against me anyway.’
On the List of Gods, the name in the top spot had dimmed considerably.
’This was proof enough that my haphazard practice of the Great Compassion Hand, visualizing all sorts of bizarre images, was having a significant effect.’
’Unfortunately, while it was hurting Su Changqing, it wasn’t helping my own Cultivation progress much.’
’This wasn’t unexpected. Modifying a Cultivation Skill was never going to be that easy.’
’If you could get results just by messing around, then High Grade Skills wouldn’t be so valuable.’
Although his Cultivation progress hadn’t increased much yet, Zou Feng was starting to get a feel for it.
He discovered that for his Cultivation progress to fluctuate even slightly, the subject of his Visualization had to have obvious negative emotions practically leaping off the page.
For example, expressions of anger, jealousy, or sloth.
’Is this telling me I need to visualize the seven deadly sins?’
With this idea in mind, Zou Feng immediately put it to the test.
For the sake of convenience and speed, he spared no expense, hiring several of the best artists in Yuan Guang County to paint seven pictures for him.
Each painting depicted a beautiful woman in a unique style, and each woman’s pose and expression corresponded to one of the sinful desires.
From these, Zou Feng selected the seven most evocative paintings to aid his Cultivation of the Great Compassion Hand.
When he cultivated, he placed a statue of the Ten Directions Divine King in the center of his room, hung the seven paintings around it, and then entered a state of Visualization.
After cultivating this way for just one day, his progress in the Great Compassion Hand increased by two points.
Zou Feng was instantly overjoyed.
’It’s working! I’ll just keep practicing this haphazardly.’
’Once I’ve perfected this Skill, it will probably become my own unique, modified Cultivation Skill!’
With his modifications to the Great Compassion Hand now having a clear direction and making progress, Su Changqing’s situation was clearly becoming even more unbearable.
After Zou Feng made some inquiries, he learned that Su Changqing hadn’t been seen during the last two operations to wipe out remnants of the Ten Directions Sect...
Even so, Zou Feng still didn’t participate in any of the operations.
’In any case, I’m considered logistics personnel now, and I’ve already made a great contribution. I can just make up an excuse, like a setback in my training, and avoid going.’
Early one morning, Bian Yixia returned from an operation with a number of her people, her expression grim.
Instead of resting, she went straight to the pharmacy where Zou Feng was.
Just one look at Bian Yixia’s expression told Zou Feng that the previous night’s mission had been another failure.
"Miss, came up empty again?"
Bian Yixia nodded. "The intel was supposed to be solid, but those bastards from the Ten Directions Sect were long gone!"
"You said before that we have a mole from the Ten Directions Sect in our ranks. It seems you were right."
Zou Feng had warned her about this before, but Bian Yixia hadn’t taken it seriously.
But now, as finding the Ten Directions Sect remnants grew more difficult and even solid leads turned into dead ends, Bian Yixia had no choice but to believe him.
"Do you have any leads on the mole?"
Zou Feng said, "I... I’m not sure. But I can say for certain that Master Chen and Wang Incense Master are unlikely to be the moles."
"What could these traitors possibly be after? The Ten Directions Sect is barely hanging on and will be completely wiped out sooner or later. Why would anyone still be their lackey? What’s in it for them?"
"I fear these Evil Cults have extremely powerful ways of bewitching people..."
Seeing that the conversation wasn’t leading anywhere, Bian Yixia changed the subject. "By the way, Demon Beasts have been appearing frequently on Qifeng Mountain lately. Do you want to go try your luck?"
For an ordinary person, an encounter with a Demon Beast is almost always a death sentence.
But for a Martial Artist, it’s no different than stumbling upon a mobile treasure vault.
Although there was a risk of being killed themselves, compared to the rewards of hunting a Demon Beast, it was a risk well worth taking.
Thus, when the major powers in Yuan Guang County heard that, for some unknown reason, Demon Beasts were suddenly appearing on Qifeng Mountain, they naturally began organizing groups to head to the mountain and try their luck.
It would also serve as a good opportunity to continue searching for the hiding places of the Ten Directions Sect remnants.
’In truth, with Su Changqing’s name on the List of Gods growing ever dimmer, there probably isn’t much danger for me even if I go out now.’
’After all, he can barely fend for himself. How could he possibly have the energy to worry about this petty affair?’
’Still, I’d better play it safe. I have to guard against the possibility that Su Changqing really is the extremely vengeful type. For now, it’s best not to get involved in the Demon Beast hunt.’
"Miss, I’m not sure if it’s a latent problem finally surfacing, but I’ve been feeling rather unwell lately. I think I’ll sit this one out..."
Bian Yixia sized him up for a moment. "It seems advancing so quickly really did cause a setback for your body. The Tribulation-Indestructible Body has already cost our group many good men..."
"But you did take a Nine Yang Profound Qi Pill, so it shouldn’t be a major issue. You should be fine after some time to recuperate."
"Until you’re fully recovered, you don’t have to come spar with me every day."
Unexpectedly, Zou Feng immediately shook his head. "Miss, it’s not that serious. While I have to pause my Cultivation, some light sparring will actually help me maintain my form."
He wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to make Su Changqing’s life miserable.
"...Alright. But not today. I need to rest for a while. I have to organize the group for Qifeng Mountain this afternoon."
Hearing this, Zou Feng asked casually, "Miss, will those disciples from the Celestial Essence Sword Sect be interested in the Demon Beasts on Qifeng Mountain too?"
"Of course. The Celestial Essence Sword Sect disciples currently stationed in Yuan Guang County are just a few at Seventh Grade and about ten at Eighth Grade."
"They’re definitely eager to hunt some high-quality Demon Beasts. It’s a benefit that even they can’t afford to ignore!"
At these words, an idea sparked in Zou Feng’s mind.
’The disciples of the Celestial Essence Sword Sect also covet the Demon Beasts, so they’ll definitely go to Qifeng Mountain.’
’Doesn’t that mean the "unwell" Su Changqing will be left behind, all alone?’